Joe Biden says US will hit Russia with cyberattacks in retaliation for data hack

Joe Biden last night suggested he would launch retaliatory cyber attacks against Russia in the wake of a recent massive data breach of the US government.

The hacking was apparently carried out by Russia and posed a “grave risk” to national security that cannot “go unanswered,” the president-elect said.

Mr Biden said: “They can be assured we will respond, probably respond in kind. There are many options I will not discuss now.”

Asked why he would not lay out the details of his response, he said: “We don’t sit here and say we’re going to strike you with a nuclear weapon and so on.

“Let us determine what the extent of the damage is. I promise you there will be a response.” Mr Biden’s suggestion that his response would be “in kind” was the clearest indication yet that he intends to target Russian infrastructure with cyber attacks, rather than simply imposing financial penalties.

The president-elect went on to lambast Donald Trump for not officially blaming Russia.

Mr Biden said: “This assault happened on Donald Trump’s watch when he wasn’t watching. Rest assured that even if he does not take it seriously, I will.”

The breach began earlier this year when hackers used the Texas-based software company SolarWinds as a stepping stone to get into government and corporate networks.

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